Tuesday, December 18, 2012

It was approximately 8.30 a.m. on a busy morning when an elderly gentleman inhis eighties arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated thathe was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9.00 a.m.I took his vital signs and had him take a seat. I knew it would take more thanan hour before someone would to able to attend to him. I saw him check hiswatch anxiously for the time and decided to evaluate his wound, since I wasnot busy with another patient. On examination, the wound was well healed. Hence, I talked to one of the doctors to get the supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. We began to engage in a conversation, while I was taking care of his wound. I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment later as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, and said that he needed to go to the nursing home to have breakfast with his wife.I inquired about her health. He told me that she had been in the nursing homefor a while as she was a victim of Alzheimer's disease. I probed further andasked if she would be upset, if he was slightly late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, and that she had not been able to recognize him since fiveyears ago. I asked him in surprise, "And you still go every morning, even thoughshe doesn't know who you are?" Then he smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is!" ;-)I had to hold back my tears as he left. I had goose bumps on my arm, and I thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life." True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, was not, will be, and will not ever be…

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

No Craving is the Ceasing of all Suffering!The Blessed Buddha once said:What, now, is this Noble Truth on the Elimination of all Suffering? It is the complete fading away & irreversible elimination of all Craving, the rejection & leaving of it, & the liberating release from it! SN 56:11

But where may this craving vanish, where may it be extinguished? Wherever in the world, there are delightful and pleasurable things!Right there and then may this craving be overcome, and quenched...DN 22

Be it in the past, the present, or in any future, whatever true recluse considers all delightful, attractive & pleasurable things in this world as impermanent anicca, as miserable dukkha, & as without a self anatta, as diseases & as cancers, it is he who conquers craving... SN 12:66

By final fading away and elimination of craving, clinging also ceases; By the elimination of clinging, the process of becoming also ceases;By the elimination of the process of becoming, rebirth also ceases; Through the elimination of all rebirth, all decay, ageing & death!, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, & despair is finally extinguished... Only that is the eradication of this entire mass of Suffering... SN 12:43

The Blessed Buddha once said:Supported, Friends, by Himalaya, king of mountains, do the snake-beings [nagas] grow a body and get strength. When they have grown a body and got strength there, they go to the tiny mountain pools, therefrom to the lakes, therefrom to the streams, therefrom to the great rivers, therefrom to the sea,& lastly they go to the mighty ocean, where they complete great growth of body. Just even so, Bhikkhus & Friends, any one supported by morality, fixed in morality, who cultivates the 7 Links to Enlightenment, makes much of them, wins great growth of the right conditions and prerequisite causes of Enlightenment!How does a Noble being, so founded in morality, so fixed in morality, cultivate the 7 Links to Enlightenment, make much of them, & win great growth of the right conditions and necessary causes of total Awakening?Such Noble Being simply cultivates the Link to Enlightenment that is Awareness, based on isolation, on detachment, on stilling, which culminates in self-surrender.Such Noble Being simply cultivates the Link to Enlightenment that is Investigation,based on solitude, on dispassion, on ceasing, which culminates in relinquishment.Such Noble Being simply cultivates the Link to Enlightenment that is Energy,based on seclusion, on indifference, on cooling, which culminates in elevation.Such Noble Being simply cultivates the Link to Enlightenment that is Joy,based on retreat, on disinterestedness, on ending, which culminates in renouncing.Such Noble Being simply cultivates the Link to Enlightenment that is Tranquillity,based on aloofness, on disgust, on stopping, which culminates in deliverance.Such Noble Being simply cultivates the Link to Enlightenment that is Concentration,based on separation, on release, on finishing, which culminates in emancipation.Such Noble Being simply cultivates the Link to Enlightenment that is Equanimity,based on withdrawal, on detachment, on stilling, which culminates in self-surrender.That is how a Noble being, founded in morality, fixed in morality, cultivates the 7 Links to Enlightenment, and by making much of them, wins to greatness of the conditions that causes the effect of Enlightenment!

Recently it was found out that both brain hemispheres can be missing, yet the children (though severely impaired) are still indeed very Conscious! Laughing without a Brain: “Got a Towel?” Case studies suggest that some forms of consciousness may not require an intact cerebrum:

Saturday, December 8, 2012

The Blessed Buddha once said: Bhikkhus, there is one particular idea, when a Bhikkhu rightly disgusts this single scheme,rightly detaches from this distinct concept,rightly releases mentally from this sole dependence,rightly sees the final end of this universal condition,having rightly and thoroughly understood this unique idea,then he is one, who makes an end of suffering in this very life!What is this one particular idea?All Beings are sustained by Fuel!When a Bhikkhu rightly disgusts, detaches, & releases from this reliance, and rightly sees the end of this phenomenon by complete comprehension, then he ends all suffering right there and then!

The 4 fold Fuel (Āhāra) any process of being burns upon are:1. Material Food(kabalinkarahara), which maintains the body.2. Sense Contact(phassa), which feeds feeling and perception.3. Intention(mano-sañcetana), which constructs kammic rebirth.4. Consciousness(viññana), which sustains renewed consciousness.This 'fire' of being, caused by these 5 clusters of clinging:

1: The Cluster of Clinging to Form...

2: The Cluster of Clinging to Feeling...

3: The Cluster of Clinging to Perception…

4: The Cluster of Clinging to Construction…5: The Cluster of Clinging to Consciousness…is thereby kept burning, since it is sustained by this 4 fold flow of fuel...Nibbāna(Sanskrit: Nirvāna), which literally means 'blown out' like a candle,is only reached by extinguishing this fire of being, by denying it new fuel...When all fuel is burned up, any fire stops and becomes peacefully cool!

Friday, December 7, 2012

The Blessed Buddha once said:Bhikkhus, there are these 4 Foundations of Awareness.What four? The ever calmly self-reminding awareness of:

1: Body is just a mass of disgusting impurities...2: Feelings are only a repeating emotional noise... 3: Mind is simply a conditioned set of weird moods...4: Phenomena are mentally baked and faked appearances...

While always acutely alert and clearly comprehending, thereby removing all lust, desire, envy, jealousy, frustration, & any kind of discontent rooted in this world... When, Bhikkhus, these 4 Foundations of Awareness have been developed, trained & well established, one of two fruits may be expected: Either Final Knowledge in this very life, or if there is residual clinging, the exalted state of Non-Return...!

Once in Savatthi the Blessed Buddha said this: What, householder friends, is the Dhamma explanation befitting for oneself? Here, householder friends, any Noble Disciple reflects thus: If someone were to to address me with gossip, idle chatter, empty babble, hearsay, and void prattle,that would neither be pleasing nor agreeable to me. Similarly, if I were to address another with gossip, idle chatter, empty babble, hearsay, and void prattle, thatwould neither be pleasing, nor agreeable, nor acceptable to that other being either! What is displeasing and disagreeable to me, is also displeasing and disagreeable to any other being too. How can I disturb & bore another being with what provokeannoy and exasperate myself? Having reflected repeatedly thus, then gradually:1: He/she will carefully avoid all gossip, idle chatter, empty babble, & void hearsay...2: He/she will persuade others also to avoid all pointless good-for-nothing speech...3: He/she will praise speaking well formulated reasoned facts worth remembering... In this very way, is this advantageous verbal behaviour purified in 3 aspects!Gossip returns!One should never defile other beings by polluting them with empty speech!